My friends will laugh… they know how I hate to cook, and I remember my mom laughing when I told her I was going to marry Vernon and live on a ranch, just because she couldn’t see me cooking for hired men! Thankfully, I’ve never had to cook for hired men… but my family and branding dinners have been enough for me!
When Dawn asked about favorite ground beef recipes for my Q&A session, I said I would post about it later… simply because I had to think!
We do eat a great deal of ground beef… hamburgers are easy, of course, but my family makes what we call “Burton Burgers”, which is essentially taking meatloaf and cooking them as patties. Whatever you like in meatloaf, onions, green peppers, Worcestershire sauce, seasonings, etc… form into burgers and fry slowly. Fry too fast and you’ll burn them. Speaking from experience.
We also eat lots of Mexican food, so tacos rank high. My tip for that comes from my mother who used to have to stretch her food allowance. She would grate a washed but unpeeled small potato into her burger while it cooked. It absorbs the grease and makes more “meat” for tacos. It also makes it moist.
Spaghetti, meatloaf, simple hamburger gravy on toast… we’re pretty basic around here! My sister is the amazing cook…
This recipe is most likely my favorite, I even made it for branding on the mountain on an old camping stove! It’s straight out of The Ground Beef Cookbook.
Acapulco Beef and Dumplings
1 pound ground beef
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Brown together, drain if necessary, add:
1 can tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 onion chopped
1/4 C water
1 can chopped green chilies
1 T chili powder
Salt and pepper
Cover and simmer 5 minutes, drop dumplings into hot meat mixture. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Cover and cook 10 minutes longer. Makes only six servings, so I often double the recipe. Serve with lettuce and sour cream.
Dumplings:
3/4 C flour
1/2 C cornmeal
2 t. Baking powder
1 t. Salt
Combine and cut in 1/4 C shortening.
Add 1 C grated cheddar cheese
2 T cilantro
2/3 C milk
OK… now I’m going to have to make this!
Find me here!
I had wondered if you used Worcestershire sauce. It was first on sale in 1837 after being created by John Heely Lea and Henry Perrins. It is still made in the town of Worcester UK not far from where I live. It is also made in New Jersey, USA. However, the recipes do vary with the U.K. Sauce using malt vinegar and the US one using distilled white vinegar. There is also more sodium and sugar in the New Jersey version. The original recipe however remains a secret. Lovely in meat dishes, on toasted cheese sandwich and sprinkled on baked beans on toast.
Dawn, glad you got a laugh about that, memories are great!
Oops! I posted a second time because I received a message that the first one didn’t go through. Now they both did! Not too surprising…I’m a little challenged by technology, but at least I’m stubborn enough to keep trying, LOL
Thank you for this recipe. Sounds delicious, and I have all the ingredients on hand! I’m also going to try your Mom’s grated potato next time I cook up some plain ground beef for the family.
First… Paul, I’m laughing here. I think that what they called hamburger gravy on toast in the Army must be the same thing my Dad called it when I was a kid!
Carol, I collect old church cookbooks and am always thumbing through them for new ways to use our ground beef. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a recipe like this “Acapulco Beef and Dumplings”, but it sounds like something my husband would really enjoy! Also excited that I already have all of this ingredients on hand. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I’m also going to try your Mom’s grated potato trick! 🙂
When I am in cooking mode I make 2-3 lb of “basic beef” – ground beef cooked until crumbly with diced onion and green pepper; drain and freeze in containers of a size for one meal. No seasonings, those are added when I make it into a meal: chili, spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes. If I have not taken a container out to thaw, a minute in hot water will let the meat slip into the pan where I can get it heating on a very low flame until it’s ready to combine with seasonings, tomato sauce and whatever else is needed. It doesn’t take much longer to prepare several pounds of Basic Beef than to do it just for the next meal, and makes future meals quick and easy until the next batch is needed.
That sounds good!
we had home raised beef growing up, mom also made hamburger gravy on toast, better name than it was called in the Army, & mom’s meat loaf was the best!